ClickCease
No Win No Fee - Employment Advocates New Zealand
Check My Case Are you an Employer? 0800 946 549
Search
Employee employment law help · Southland & Invercargill

Employment Advocate Southland & Invercargill

We help Southland employees deal with employment disputes remotely and progress matters through written responses, negotiation, mediation and the Employment Relations Authority when required.

Check My Case 0800 WIN KIWI Quick Contact
Dismissed or facing formal action? Most Personal Grievances generally need to be raised within 90 days. Save the employment agreement, letters, emails, texts, meeting invitations, notes and any relevant rosters or payslips. If you are thinking about resigning, get advice before doing it if you can.

Employment problems we help with in Southland & Invercargill

Start with the problem that best matches what has happened at work.

Unfair dismissalDismissed for misconduct, performance, incapacity or another stated reason.
RedundancyRestructure, consultation, selection, redeployment and whether the job was genuinely redundant.
Personal GrievanceRaising the grievance, evidence, remedies, negotiation and the next procedural step.
Constructive dismissalPressure to resign, intolerable circumstances and the risks of resigning before getting advice.
Disciplinary processAllegations, investigations, meetings, warnings, suspension and proposed dismissal.
Unjustified disadvantageWarnings, reduced hours, changes to duties, demotion, suspension and other adverse action.

Employment law help in Southland & Invercargill

Southland workplaces include agriculture and food production, manufacturing, transport, trades, health, retail, public services, tourism and smaller local businesses. Employment issues can involve safety and conduct allegations, performance, hours, restructuring and dismissal.

Remote representation works best when the evidence is organised early. We ask for the agreement, relevant correspondence, meeting documents and a clear chronology, then identify what must be responded to immediately and what can be dealt with through a grievance or later mediation.

Issues we commonly focus on

  • Dismissal and disciplinary disputes
  • Performance and warning processes
  • Redundancy, restructuring and changes to hours
  • Personal Grievance, mediation and ERA representation

Areas covered

This is a regional starting point, not a boundary on who can contact us.

Invercargill Gore Winton Te Anau Mataura Riverton Fiordland the wider Southland region

What happens next

1

Assess

Work out the facts, documents, legal issue, deadline and realistic outcomes.

2

Raise & negotiate

Raise the claim properly and test whether the dispute can be resolved directly.

3

Mediation

Prepare the evidence and position for MBIE employment mediation and settlement discussions.

4

ERA / Court

If resolution is not sensible, progress the claim through the ERA and, where required, the Employment Court.

Employment mediation Employment Relations Authority

Employment cases connected to Southland & Invercargill

Recent Anderson Law case summaries that mention this region, a local workplace, registry or hearing location.

8 Jul 2026

Brent Colyer v New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited [2026] NZERA 444 - flawed disciplinary process, written warning and unjustified disadvantage

Brent Colyer had worked for New Zealand Aluminium Smelters Limited as an electrician for almost 20 years. After he inspected a gantry crane without first isolating a related 35-tonne crane, NZAS investigated and issued a written warning. The ERA found the disciplinary process was unjustified and breached good faith. NZAS had blurred an informal incident investigation into a disciplinary investigation, failed to collect basic statements, allowed an uninvestigated concern about Mr Colyer's attitude toward a colleague to become central, failed to provide the correct investigation report in advance, and then accidentally gave him a draft report containing an outcomes section. Constructive dismissal failed, but unjustified disadvantage succeeded. NZAS was ordered to pay $18,000 compensation...

7 Jul 2026

Steven David Mitchell v Tasman Rugby Union Incorporated [2026] NZERA 435 - CEO returned to payroll on interim reinstatement

Tasman Rugby Union summarily dismissed its CEO, Steven David Mitchell, for alleged serious misconduct. In this interim decision, the ERA did not finally determine the allegations. It found, however, that Mr Mitchell had a strongly arguable unjustified-dismissal case, including an arguable predetermination concern arising from a review process, how that review later fed into the disciplinary process, and Board communications that could indicate adverse and personalised views had formed before the decision. The Authority held that the new 2026 remedies amendments applied, but could not make definitive contribution or serious-misconduct findings at the interim stage. It ordered immediate reinstatement to payroll only, backdated to 21 March 2026, while reserving the substantive merits hearing...

2 Jul 2026

Amanda Bradley v Fire and Emergency New Zealand [2026] NZERA 441 - FireSuper eligibility and poor communication

Amanda Bradley, a Manager Region Training for Fire and Emergency New Zealand, could not establish that her collective agreement gave automatic entry to the FireSuper scheme. The ERA found that eligibility was conditional upon the FireSuper Trust Deed or the Trustees' discretion, and it could not direct FENZ to confer rank or classify the MRT role as Black Watch. But the Authority found FENZ had significant influence over FireSuper eligibility and handled Ms Bradley's enquiries in a poor, slow, inconsistent and confusing manner. That was an unjustified disadvantage and a breach of good faith. Ms Bradley was awarded $5,000 compensation, with no contribution reduction...

24 Sep 2025

Benjamin Thomas v Matthew Scott and Patricia Scott trading as Infinity Dairy [2025] NZERA 592 - indefinite paid suspension over prescribed medicinal cannabis; employer silence led to constructive dismissal; $33,545.75 awarded plus $4,571.55 costs/fee

A dairy farm senior assistant disclosed neurodiversity conditions and a medicinal cannabis prescription before starting work. After disputes over contract terms and leave/tenancy issues, the employer suspended him indefinitely on vague health and safety grounds and then went silent for months....

Browse the full employment-law and case library

Use the Anderson Law employment-law library

The regional page is the entry point, not a separate silo. Search the wider guides, ERA decisions and Employment Court material for the issue that actually affects your case.

Search employment law Browse all topics

Nearby and related regions

These are geographically or practically connected regional pages, not a generic island-wide list.

View all New Zealand locations
Queenstown & Central Otago Dunedin & Otago South Island

Want us to look at what happened?

Send the basic facts through the case form. Include the important dates and the documents you already have.

Check My Case

Browse topics

Popular topics

Unfair Dismissal 20 Redundancy 38 Personal Grievance 16 Unjustified Disadvantage 80 90 Day Trial Period 26 Constructive Dismissal 31 Disciplinary Process 7 Workplace Bullying 4 Medical Incapacity 7 Employment Mediation 7

All topics

Dismissal & Job Loss

Unfair Dismissal 20 Redundancy 38 Constructive Dismissal 31 90 Day Trial Period 26 Medical Incapacity 7

Employment Terms & Leave

Probationary Periods 6 Casual Employment 9 Holidays Act 11

Problems at Work

Personal Grievance 16 Unjustified Disadvantage 80 Disciplinary Process 7 Suspension from Work 9 Performance Management 5 Workplace Bullying 4

Getting Help

Employment Mediation 7 Employment Lawyers & Advocates 13 No Win No Fee 6

ERA & Employment Court

Employment Relations Authority 3 ERA & Court Costs 7 Employment Court 10

Cases, News & Commentary

Unfair Dismissal Cases 228 Employment Court Cases 11 Special Interest Cases 4 Employment Law News & Opinion 18 Covid-19 Updates 3